To Remember
by Winter Alais
Summary: Side stories to Memoirs of the Caged Birds.About Hinata's and Neji's wedding and funeral.
1. Heliotrope

Heliotrope

Side story to Memoirs of the Caged Birds, this is Hinata and Neji wedding so I hope you all enjoy it!!!!

Disclaimer: I sadly enough do not own Naruto as he belongs to his respectful righter, but i wish i did anyways.

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It was a beautiful day when they had gotten married under the old pine tree in the back of the compound, with a clear blue sky, the sun shining in its full glory, and sakura blossoms in full bloom. It was perfect in every sense; the war looming outside of their village was practically all but forgotten in light of what was happening. 

She wearing a beautiful shiro-maku that her mother had worn, her hair which had grown longer was put into the traditional bunkin-takashimada style with different hair ornaments, combs and small accessories adorning her hair, hanging from her obi was a partially opened fan and in her small hands she carried a hakoseko and a kaiken.

He wearing a montsuki kimono with a short haori overcoat, the Hyuuga crest stood out proudly on the back and front of the kimono which had been tucked into pleated hakama pants. His hair was pulled back into a high ponytail with a metal piece holding it up.

And when the ceremony began the sound of flutes had filled the air, the priest standing at the top as he purified the two before the vows where exchanged:

I marry this woman/man

No matter what the health situation is

I will love her/him

Respect her/him

Console her/him

Help her/him

Until death

Protecting fidelity

I swear

Together they said Hai, chikaimasu as the priest bowed to them before heading down to allow them to go on to the San San Ku Do.

Miniature sized sake set consisting of three flat cups escalating in size sat on the stand as he led the way by drinking a sip from the smallest cup before passing the cup to her for her own drinking before proceeding up to the next two.

With the ceremony completed he would head to the reception party where the guests consisting of the friends and family who where not out on the front line, while she would go back to change into a lavender and minty green uchikake with violet and sweet pea flowers patterns on the end of the sleeves and coiling around the bottom of the kimono before joining him in greeting the guests.

But the room in which the party was held was not shy on beauty, vases of different arrangements consisting of either red or white roses, hibiscus and gladiolus, or ginger and apple blossoms where placed in the room.

And as the party came to an end, the guests leaving because they either had to head out early the next morning or because they had too much sake the two of them would stand at the exit side by side as they shook the hands of those departing and bid them farewell. With the last of the guests gone they would retire to their new room to rest for the new days to come with new expectations.

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Hiiiiiii everybody !!!!! Now since your reading this now you have offically finished this story and have not left right after so for those who are still here i give to you some explanation on some of the stuff i used. 

Shiro-maku ( shiro white and maku pure) : is the traditional wedding kimono that is worn, consisting of several different white kimonos

Bunki-takashimada: is the tradtional hair style that is worn by the brides.

Hakoseko: is a small small purse style sack that are said to bring good luck.

Kaiken: is a small encased sword that like the Hakoseko is said to bring good luck.

The partially opened fan implies happiness and thus brings good fortune

Uchikake: originated in the Edo era and was mainly worn only by court nobles. The kimono is made of silk and beautiful silk brocade. The kimono is rich in fine embroidered patterns and scenes of flowers, cranes, pines, flower carts and nature motifs embellish the kimono in rich color. The wedding day will be the last time the bride will wear a rich highly patterned kimono, for in Japan they are reserved only to be worn by young unmarried women.

Montsuki kimono: are used for ceremonies and special occasions which bears the family crest on both the front and back of the kimono.

Hakamas: an outer garment worn over a full length kimono that are split between the legs like pants.

San San Ku Do: is the traditional sake sharing which means "three sets of three sips equals nine", which signify the union of the couple.

Anyways i hope you all enjoyed this little side story, i will try to get the funeral done soon but it might be a few days since i have to prepare for my position paper in social but i'll try to get it posted soon.

But REVIEW please to tell me what you think of it : )

Ja ne'


	2. Primrose

Primrose

wow!!! i finally finished the final story to my memoir story : )

And great many thanks to those who read and salote and dark precipice i'm glad you liked the little facts i put into this story and to WhiteLilyAngel i'm glad you liked my story.

Most importantly i would like to thank the peoples for placing my story onto your favorite list! You do no know how much i thank you!

Anyways i'm sorry it took me so long to update this story... but i had a block and trying to find information about Japanese funerals was so F hard, in the end i just ended up going with what i remembered from my great-grandma and grandpas' funeral.

But enough with my ranting- sooooo on wards to my story : )

A.N: I sooooo do not own this story... :'( (wish i did thought 'pout')

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"Her heart had stopped working", was all he had heard before he felt himself collapse on to the ceramic floor of the hospital and even before she spoke again he knew from the unease he felt that she wasn't finished, "and I really don't know if you two knew this, but she was pregnant for at least two months now, and from what we managed to find out, she was pregnant with twins" and his world collapsed. 

"We'll get her cleaned up for her burial" she started but before she could finish he cut her of, "I'll do it" was all he said before he walked into the room that held her body. Pulling the white sheet away from her face and all he could do was stare at her face, she looked like she was sleeping and if it wasn't for how cold and pale she was pale enough that you could see her veins she would be. But she wasn't, she was dead.

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On the day before her funeral, he cleaned her body and fitted her in a simple white kimono with green edging and a blue obi with a pattern of orange blossoms on the kimono. Her hair was done in the way she usually did it, two braids going from each side of her face held together by a white ribbon on the end, two thin strips of hair reached her chin framing her face while another two strands of hair was settled over her shoulder to rest just above her chest. He had put little makeup on her face since she never liked them when she was alive and settled for simply outlining her eyes in pink and turquoise eye shadow, some light blush to bring some color to her face and used her favorite lip gloss to finish it of. Her wedding and engagement ring was worn on her left hand, were it should be and the locket he had given her when she made jounin rested on the hollow of her neck.

She was beautiful even as she laid in the birch coffin that was lined in white silk, surrounding her body was pink carnations and purple hyacinth, and in her arms were two faceless paper dolls that represented the unborn twins that would never see the world around them.

There closest friends, those from their generation where the first to see her each bringing an item to be placed in her coffin.

And then the procession started, he sat there with the others hearing the sympathetic words that spilled from their lips, words that just went right over his head. He did not need such pitying word from fools that did not understand; after all such words would not bring her back.

And when the time came to close the lid to her coffin he rose from his seat to look at her one last time, bending slightly to place one last kiss on her lip before straightening up and signaled for the lid to be closed for the final time, turning around he walked back to the others and as he walked he could smell the smoke from the flare being lit and when he turned around he could see the flames start to lick the wood of the coffin, and as the flames grew stronger all he could do was watch the flames engulf her coffin whole.

They had talked so much about what they wanted in a family when the war was over; garden filled with blooming flowers of all colors, kids that would grow away from the darkness that they grew up in and he would teach them to fight while she would teach them to heal, but most of all their children would grow up with all the love a parent could give their child.

But it wouldn't happen now because the other half that would bring this dream to fruit was gone.

All gone, there was nothing left. And as he looked at the stone that had been erected in her place he could feel the tears that he had been holding back since her death just flow from fall from his eyes.

"Why… why did this happen, so long we fought to be together and yet the fates…" he asked her letting his calloused fingers go over the engraving.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

_Loving Wife_

_Cherished Friend,_

_and_

_Beloved Daughter_

"We promised forever… yet it's only been two years…two years since we exchanged our vows, so why…why are things already over" he chocked out leaning his head on the stone, closing his eyes as he slumped down onto the ground letting the darkness embrace him.

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The next day when it was found out that Neji didn't return back to the compound that night a search had ensued even if it was a really short search, they all knew were he would be and they were right because when they arrived lying on the freshly covered grave was the still form of the Hyuuga prodigy.

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A.N. Well ima finished now so i hope you all enjoyed this story and even though i didn't use much actual fact about the Japanese funerals but i thought i just add some silly facts in so i hope you'll like it. 

1) Japanese funerals are **the most expensive **funerals in the world costing 4 million yen, and one of the main reason is because of the lack of space for funeral plots,Another reason is the price gouging common at Japanese funeral homes, combined with the hesitation of the relatives of the deceased to negotiate and to compare prices.

2) 90 percent of Japanese funerals are Buddhist style

3)After death, the deceased's lips are moistened with water, in a ceremony called _Matsugo-no-mizu_ ("Water of the last moment"). The household shrine is closed and covered with a white paper, to keep out the impure spirits of the dead. This is called _Kamidana-fuji_.

So just little some little facts but if you are curious wikipedia can be a really good place to look it up, though know matter how hard i searched i couldn't find anything on how the buried pregnant women... hey if anybody know about it like if anything special is done or if its done in the same way as regular funerals, and i don't care whose tradition its for. Besides it would be interesting, so i you do know some stuff can you leave it in a review or maybe email me about it. PLEASE!!!!

Oh REVIEW please!!!!


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